Despite a fairly rainy week, the weekend at Panorama Mountain Village, host of the 2011 Canadian DH Mountain Bike Championships, could not have been better.
The championships were held July 23 and July 24, with scheduled training times before the races and an awards ceremony to close off the weekend.
Riders from all over Canada competed for the winning spot in each of their divisions: Under-17 (U17), Junior Expert Women, Junior Expert Men, Elite Women and Elite Men.
The championships presented riders with a daring downhill course that competitors braved to earn the fastest time.
The event was made possible through a close collaborative effort between Panorama, the Canadian Cycling Association, and Cycling BC.
While weather on Friday was inclement, the course still held well and impressed riders, such as Junior Expert Men’s race winner and national champion Kyle Sangers, of Kingston, Ontario.
“It held up really well, I couldn’t have asked for a better track,” said Sangers.
Sangers is in his fourth season of competition biking, and will be participating in various local events later this year, as well as the European World Cup.
“It’s pretty sweet, pretty cool, it’s not every day you get to be a Canadian national champ,” laughed Sangers on winning the race.
Top riders in the Junior Expert Women were Lauren Rosser, with a best time of 4:09.44, and runner-up Kelsey Begg with a time of 4:43.02. Winners in the Junior Expert Men were Kyle Sangers, with a best time of 3:24.58, and runner-up Riley Suhan with a time of 3:29.07.
In the Elite Expert Women, Claire Buchar had a best time of 3:57.90, and runner-up Casey Brown finished with 3:58.13. Winners in the Elite Expert Men were Andrew Mitchell, with a best time of 3:24.80, and runner-up Chris Del Bosco with a time of 3:25.09
The Canadian DH Mountain Bike Championships are a part of the Canada Cup National Cycling Series.
